Honda Accord (2003-2007) Maintenance and Repair

Comments

I have 102k miles on my accord and notice that when driving around town - 25 mph speed limit If I hit the gas to maintain speed up an incline or simply give the gas a little tap AND the tachometer is hoovering in the neighborhood of 1250 - 1500 RPM, I can feel a shudder.bucking motion through the car. Doesn't matter if the car is cold or at normal operating temp and this also happens only when in high gear and is getting progressively worse

A better way to explain it: It feels the same as if you were driving a manual transmission in too high a gear and that feeling you get thru the car when it's "telling" you to downshift... the bucking/shuddering motion. That's the way it feels

If I step harder on the gas, it won't behave this way.. only if I'm being very "gentle"

I had an oil change done 2 days ago. Today, the check engine light came on and the car "missed 4 times" over the course of about 4 miles. The check engine light is still on. Went to local auto parts store, they ran the general code and it said Racket arm actuator. The guy ran that code and made it specifically for 07 Honda's and it stated several reasons that lead to oil pressure issues. Checked the oil, VERY LOW, after oil change. There is no oil leak. Most likely they did not put enough oil in when changing it. Is this a common issue with Honda's. I've never heard of this and neither have any of my mechanic friends. Also, the oil pressure low indicator light has not come on even though the oil is very low. Any suggestions? 2007 Honda Accord Lx 4dr.

He probably meant "Rocker Arm Actuator". Have you added oil to bring up to correct level? I am guessing the Rocker code was brought on by the low oil level. I don't think this particular problem is common on Accords - seems more so on older CRVs. I always check the work done before leaving the mechanic (even if it's a dealer). I once had an oil drain plug come out on the way home (on the interstate - very bad). I paid for an oil change that "wasn't done" (they made it right - but if I hadn't checked??) and several times they have failed to top of the fluid level after starting the car. Anyway, you might check out this thread (similar or same problem as yours) www.honda-tech.com thread 1706098

I have a 2006 EX-V6 with about 54K miles. I love the car, but have noticed the plastic material that is behind the steering wheel controls (volume and cruise) is sticking up. There is fabric that covers the hard plastic. The plastic seems bent up where it meets the corner. I tried to bend it down, but it comes back up. Any ideas to make it stay down? I thought about putting some strong glue in there and putting a clamp on it. Thanks.

I have an '05 Accord EX-L and I think you are talking about the edges that pop up on the steering wheel behind the controls. Mine does the same. I do not remember if it has always done that. If this is what you are talking about, I would not do anything to it.

I started to replace the rear struts on my accord. To my consternation though, I can't seem to see where the top of the strut assembly is bolted. I know it must be in the trunk area, but it appears that it might be behind the leather rear seating. Anyone on here able to guide me in step by step fashion on getting the strut assembly out?

Hi Mr Snyder:Because of your intrepidness; I feel compelled to assist. The upper nuts on the bolts, are located behind your back seat. Hopefully, your backseat releases and drops down. Directly over the rear humps, behind the fabric, held in place by black "button" clips, you will see I believe at least two nuts. I used a 3/8's inch drive with I believe a 12 or 14 mm socket. After you release the strut, it should drop down, and you should be able to install the new one in reverse order. In addition, using a floor jack, under the lower assembly, should really help you, when aligning the bottom bolt, which secures the strut, to the lower suspension. Hope this helps! Ed...

I would recommend using after market high performance pads.I have ended up with warped OEM rotors and cracked pads too many times. I finally put my dollars towards after market rotors and pads. They are one of my best investments for my 04 Accord. BTW, I am pretty hard on my brakes.This is what I bought from the TireRack:1 Akebono pro-act ceramic pads In Stock $43.00 $43.001 Akebono pro-act ceramic pads In Stock $55.00 $55.001 Power slot rotor (ea) In Stock $84.00 $84.001 Power slot rotor (ea) In Stock $84.00 $84.00

I actually wanted to get Hawk pads but I don't they offered them at the time.

I have always used oem pads on my Accords. I never had to have the rotors machined or replaced, and they are completely silent (most important to me). All I do is change the pads, and I'm ready for another 50k miles or so. Even though I do a lot of stop and go driving, I guess I'm easy on brakes.

Hi finzz:Message #5284 suggestion of Akebono Ceramic pads is a great idea, especially since Akebono makes Honda's OEM brake pads. However, if you have a problem finding them, NAPA makes Adative One hybrid-ceramic pad, which is also excellent!! I really feel the difference, and in chorus with the high-performance drilled and slotted rotors--makes a formidable combination. Prevents warping becuz it keeps your rotors 150-200 degrees cooler; especially, if you live in a hotter climate like the Southwestern US.

hi - this very same issue occurred to me a while back. not sure what happened, but i was very lucky as my car had about one month left in warranty...and they replaced it free of charge. i recall the unit they ordered cost around $100 (and you would have to add labor i suspect). took less than an hour to install. good luck - the broken door was very annoying !!!

I recently noticed that the keyhole on my driver's side door is marching further and further back in to my door making it hard to put a key in the door (I only use the keyhole when I'm trying to roll up the window after having forgotten in the car). It looks like the trim around the door handle pops off, but I don't want to risk it.

I'm replying to the last post I made back in Dec 29, 2009 regarding my wife's 2007 Accord i4 coupe. At the time, it was at 26807 miles. I was discussing the maintenance I had done at 24784 miles back in 11/11/2009. It's almost 6 months later since that maintenance and almost 8k miles. The maintenance minder wants me to bring in my car again, I'm actually -777 miles right now, haven't had a chance to take care of it yet. It's saying Type A and when I look over on http://www.ahm-ownerlink.com/Maintenance/ , it's confusing me. I liked the maintenance schedule of my 2004 Accord.

Looking at older maintenance, at 20k edmunds says to have the "Inspect Steering gear rack, linkage & boots" which seems pretty close to the "Inspect Tie rod ends, steering gearbox & boots" I listed right above. Not sure if that was checked out on my last visit.

I'm planning on just leaving the car at the dealer w/ a $35 coupon for oil change, multi-point inspection. which includes either an alignment check or a tire rotation (can't remember which) and I think a battery check too. Hopefully that'll cover all these things to inspect.

I bought the air filter and am planning on doing it on my own. Still haven't gotten the cabin air filter yet. When I visited the dealer near my work, they wouldn't match the price of www.handa-accessories.com/ but the air filter was cheaper or very close in price anyways. However the cabin air filter/pollen filter was significantly more. I'm going to try one more time to visit the dealer near my home and see if they'll match the price to www.handa-accessories.com/ and stock up on some cabin air filters. Or just order from handa.

If you are planning on having the dealer take care of "inspection" items, they usually do a pretty good job. IMHO, there is no major thing to worry about with most of them. Their "multi-point inspection" should be enough.

Changing the oil and both filters you mentioned is necessary. You may also want to do a search about brake and transmission fluids. There are different opinions around here on how often those should be performed.

I'm guessing that your coupon is for tire rotation. I prefer that they measure the tread depth on the front and rears and rotate them only when necessary.

If the Maintenance Minder bothers you, there is nothing wrong with following the old recommendations based purely on mileage. Many Honda dealers want you to follow their own schedules but that includes a lot of unnecessary things, IMHO. I suggest that you use the MM or another mileage-based schedule and stick to it.

we have a 2005 EXL 6 cylinder. We have had the same problem twice, the TCS with ! comes on the right side of dash, on left side shows an outline of an engine, when it happened the car started to slow and chug and almost stopped. we pulled over and shut down for 30 seconds then restarted and TCS went off but engine outline stayed on for awhile longer. Car seems to hesitate as mechanic could not find the problem (same mechanic for 9 years), happened again yesterday on turnpike, when it was hesitating lights came on, pulled over and shut down, re-start adn it is ok, bus t does not feel right and even have been usung high test gas to see if car would ruun better, anyone have nay thoughts?

It's been a while since I've posted and now I have another small problem. It appears that my passenger side window motor is dying. The other day I rolled the window down through the key fob and then when I started the engine the window rolled up as if it had the auto up feature (my car is a 2003 LX and doesn't have this feature) and then I was driving down the road and it refused to go down. A little later I was driving after having gotten the window down and it wouldn't go back up. So I shut the radio off and attempted to roll down with the master switch and I could hear something trying to engage (and no the lock-out switch wasn't engaged), but nothing was happening. At one point I dropped the car in neutral (I was going slow so as not to damage anything) and dropped it back in drive and the window starting working again. I highly doubt they're related. Does anybody have any ideas?

Also, sometimes the windows will work after shutting the car down and restarting. How much might I expect to pay if I took it somewhere? I'm not mechanically inclined and even if I was I have no space to work where I live.

The same thing happened to me with my Accord several years ago. Turned out to be a bad battery. Lots of lights came on - the TCS was the first light to appear, then the brake light, then the engine light. After a few minutes it looked like a Christmas tree on my dashboard! Then the engine slowed and stopped. It barely restarted. After I got home, the car refused to start. The alternator was 100% and terminal connections were good; just a bad battery after three years of service.

I have an '05 Accord EX-L 4 cylinder. My battery had to be jumped. Afterward, the engine light came on which, according to the manual, is normal. It says that the codes will reset after three days of driving. That has not happened after five. I am thinking that I may have to go to the dealer to have them reset. According to the manual, if this continues and you have a problem with your emissions system, you can damage your engine.

tankbeans,When the window does work, does it go up at normal speed, or does it seem like it's straining? If the window moves normally, I suspect the switch, if the motor drags I suspect the motor or the regulator (the regulator and motor are sold together I believe). Majestic Honda prices are $118.26 for the motor/regulator, and $131.23 for the driver's master switch (dealer prices are about $50 more). The labor cost would probably be more for the window motor/regulator than the switch (more work to change). Good luck getting it fixed.

Thank you for your response. I just got back home from work and checked out the performance of the window on the way home. I had opened via the key fob and it went back up upon starting the engine. That being said the window appears to go back up as normal (when it works). Is this something that is easy enough for a person who isn't mechanically inclined to do or would I be better served taking it in?